Sugar Lump
Megan Gaudino
Published by: Evernight Teen
Publication date: January 17th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Megan Gaudino
Published by: Evernight Teen
Publication date: January 17th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Seventeen-year-old travel blogger CC is stuck on a never-ending road trip with her wanderlust-addicted father. When her dad lands the job of his dreams in Sugar Lump—wedding capital of the world—CC finally finds a place to call home. Complete with two quirky best friends and a quixotic guy to crush on, Sugar Lump is more shades of perfect than she can possibly count.
But when CC accidentally overhears the mayor complaining that she has to “take out” a rogue employee for not fulfilling the terms of his contract, the idyllic town’s facade crumbles. Devastated by the possibility of having to move yet again, CC discovers everyone has been keeping a massive secret from her—including her own father.
Excerpt
A seriously tall and dangerously curvy girl stood just
outside the back entrance of Layers and Tiers. Her long, brown hair was braided
into glossy pigtails reaching her waist, and her blue and white gingham dress
made her look like a modern day Dorothy just back from a hot date in Oz.
“There’s my moon,” Henry said with so much affection I
wanted to push Luna and take her lunch money.
We parked the van in its designated spot far from the door.
Luna practically skipped, something that must’ve taken hours of practice in her
wedge clogs, to meet up with us. When Luna and Henry reached each other, they
clasped hands and double air kissed. Birds suddenly appeared and bells started
to ring.
“Lovie.” Luna tweaked Henry’s nose between her pointy, silver
nails.
“Doll Face.” Henry brought her knuckles to his lips.
She did have a doll face, with her round cheeks and the
defined cupid’s bow of her overly red lips. Maybe all the lipstick was the
reason for the air kisses. Luna wasn’t a porcelain doll though. Her skin was
even darker than her mother’s.
“CC.” She turned to me and grabbed my hands. They felt so
smooth, and mine must have felt like sandpaper to her. “It’s so nice to meet
you.” Luna’s speech was hurried, just like her mother’s, but didn’t hold any
trace of an accent. “Henry and I absolutely devoured your blog when we learned
you were moving here.” She made chomping noises.
“Oh.” I was blushing. I could feel it. “Thank you.” It made
me insanely uncomfortable to talk about the blog in the real world. “You guys
should work for the FBI, or something. How did you even find it? I don’t use my
real name.”
“It wasn’t hard—you’re so popular and this whole town minors
in stalking.” Luna jutted out her hip and planted her hand on it. “It’s
basically our collective hobby. Besides, it’s not very often a new family moves
in. We can spare a few hours for background digging, especially if that
background is as impressive as yours.”
“I wouldn’t call my life impressive. Just busy.” I used my
hands to form a makeshift visor from the sun. Or just hide my face. Whatever.
“What’s the difference? At least you aren’t stuck in an
endless loop of weddings.”
“She’s right, CC.” Henry wedged himself between us. “My
nightmares look like the storage room of Kleinfeld’s the day after a sale.”
“That does sound awful.” I laughed, dropping my hands.
Author Bio:
Megan Gaudino works in a high school library by day and on her own books by night. She’s made up of a mixture of black clothing, iced coffee, and a desire to go adventuring. Those things sort of come together naturally to form a writer. She lives in Pittsburgh where you can find her reading, writing, and Instagraming.
I really enjoyed reading the excerpt, thank you!
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